Inoue was a two-time Olympian for Japan in both single and pairs. Inoue's best singles result was 5th place at the 1994 Junior Worlds. She received U.S. citizenship in 2005. Baldwin hails from a skating family. Both his parents were skaters, his father was a National Champion in singles and pairs and his brother Don is also a figure skater. Baldwin has been on the U.S. National team since 1986 and was the 1991 National Junior Champion and 1990 World Junior Bronze medallist in singles. Inoue/Baldwin are the first couple to have landed a throw triple Axel in competition (2006 National Championships) and international competition (2006 Olympic Winter Games). The couple switched coaches following the 2008/09 season. Coaches Jenni Meno and Todd Sand are three-time World medallists in Pair Skating.